Classy

Wednesday

Jul 23, 2014 at 12:30 PM

Time for a break from the Riv today. I'm finding it hard to go anywhere in my glorious hometown without running into somebody who has a bone to pick with me over something I wrote. So today I will turn my gaze westward toward "Camelot". I figure the only reason I'm ever in Somerset anyway is because I'm cutting through it on my way someplace else, so why not. Although I do stop the car once every year or two and grab an ice cream cone if the mood strikes. So here goes.

I know next to nothing about Somerset. That's fine with me and I'm pretty sure that's fine with them too. I owned a house for a couple of decades in the Riv that had a sweeping, west facing view. I could see the Taunton River from one power plant to the other. The smokestacks of Camelot were my vista. Other than that I only know what I read in the paper. And that's the problem because what I've been reading in the paper lately has not been very good. From MCAS shenanigans to power plant closings, from a gaping budget hole and the loss of tax revenue to a rather angry police chief, the perception is that of an unhappy place. Now the angry police chief has retired and is pursuing a career in politics, which seems about right, and the duly elected Selectmen, who's authority it clearly is, have made a unanimous choice to fill the vacant position. And some of the good folks of Somerset decided to vent their spleens. In public. Classy.

The Board of Selectmen decided on Randolph Lieutenant George McNeil as the next Chief. As I pointed out in the previous paragraph that choice was unanimous. The problem for some of the folks in town is that one of the finalists for the position was current Somerset Police Captain Steven Moniz. He was the local favorite. The outgoing Chief was a vocal supporter of Captain Moniz. He was not alone. There was even a Facebook page set up encouraging townsfolk to show up in support of Captain Moniz at the meeting Monday night at the Somerset Middle School. Ah Facebook. If you're looking to reach the great unwashed that's the place to go. The problem was it worked. People did show up. When the announcement was made that McNeil was the choice those in attendance must have not realized that they were actually out of the den. There was yelling. Threats. Big bad four letter swear words. There were also children present and other people with some idea of how to comport oneself in public. Newly appointed Chief McNeil along with his wife and children were also present. Welcome to Somerset. Good luck with the house hunting.

I understand the arguments, for and against, about hiring from within. For the record I could give a crap where somebody currently works or lives. I'm not one of those residency requirement guys either. If you have an open position you make a judgement and hire who you feel is best suited to do the job and benefit the community. Period. Plus McNeil is moving to town, he says by the middle of next month, so that's a moot point anyway. Having been a career member of a department has it's pluses and minuses too. Sometimes it's nice to get an outside perspective. That's why we elect people to make these decisions. It's their call. There are examples right here in the Riv of going outside that worked and those that didn't. Off the top of my head I'd point to former City Administrator Bob Connors as an example that did. Former School Superintendent Nicholas Fischer as one that didn't.

Just don't go swearing in front of kids over it. Go vote instead. One of the things that has always bothered me about some people in Somerset is the way they look down their noses when they look over the river. How they claim they have no use for the Riv. Unless it's for a paycheck or a doctor's appointment of course. Look, I'm not saying we don't have our share of whack jobs either because we do. I know. I'm a card carrying member of the club. But we try to exhibit a modicum of decorum at our public meetings. We even have this thing called "citizen's input" where we let residents speak. This serves to keep the crazies to three minutes at a pop, no swearing allowed and, by the way, jot down your name and address, just in case.

I guess the upside here is that we've reached a point where Somerset is making Fall River look good. I guess I should just shut up and be thankful. That's mighty neighborly of you guys. Classy.

Time for a break from the Riv today. I'm finding it hard to go anywhere in my glorious hometown without running into somebody who has a bone to pick with me over something I wrote. So today I will turn my gaze westward toward "Camelot". I figure the only reason I'm ever in Somerset anyway is because I'm cutting through it on my way someplace else, so why not. Although I do stop the car once every year or two and grab an ice cream cone if the mood strikes. So here goes.
I know next to nothing about Somerset. That's fine with me and I'm pretty sure that's fine with them too. I owned a house for a couple of decades in the Riv that had a sweeping, west facing view. I could see the Taunton River from one power plant to the other. The smokestacks of Camelot were my vista. Other than that I only know what I read in the paper. And that's the problem because what I've been reading in the paper lately has not been very good. From MCAS shenanigans to power plant closings, from a gaping budget hole and the loss of tax revenue to a rather angry police chief, the perception is that of an unhappy place. Now the angry police chief has retired and is pursuing a career in politics, which seems about right, and the duly elected Selectmen, who's authority it clearly is, have made a unanimous choice to fill the vacant position. And some of the good folks of Somerset decided to vent their spleens. In public. Classy.
The Board of Selectmen decided on Randolph Lieutenant George McNeil as the next Chief. As I pointed out in the previous paragraph that choice was unanimous. The problem for some of the folks in town is that one of the finalists for the position was current Somerset Police Captain Steven Moniz. He was the local favorite. The outgoing Chief was a vocal supporter of Captain Moniz. He was not alone. There was even a Facebook page set up encouraging townsfolk to show up in support of Captain Moniz at the meeting Monday night at the Somerset Middle School. Ah Facebook. If you're looking to reach the great unwashed that's the place to go. The problem was it worked. People did show up. When the announcement was made that McNeil was the choice those in attendance must have not realized that they were actually out of the den. There was yelling. Threats. Big bad four letter swear words. There were also children present and other people with some idea of how to comport oneself in public. Newly appointed Chief McNeil along with his wife and children were also present. Welcome to Somerset. Good luck with the house hunting.
I understand the arguments, for and against, about hiring from within. For the record I could give a crap where somebody currently works or lives. I'm not one of those residency requirement guys either. If you have an open position you make a judgement and hire who you feel is best suited to do the job and benefit the community. Period. Plus McNeil is moving to town, he says by the middle of next month, so that's a moot point anyway. Having been a career member of a department has it's pluses and minuses too. Sometimes it's nice to get an outside perspective. That's why we elect people to make these decisions. It's their call. There are examples right here in the Riv of going outside that worked and those that didn't. Off the top of my head I'd point to former City Administrator Bob Connors as an example that did. Former School Superintendent Nicholas Fischer as one that didn't.
Just don't go swearing in front of kids over it. Go vote instead. One of the things that has always bothered me about some people in Somerset is the way they look down their noses when they look over the river. How they claim they have no use for the Riv. Unless it's for a paycheck or a doctor's appointment of course. Look, I'm not saying we don't have our share of whack jobs either because we do. I know. I'm a card carrying member of the club. But we try to exhibit a modicum of decorum at our public meetings. We even have this thing called "citizen's input" where we let residents speak. This serves to keep the crazies to three minutes at a pop, no swearing allowed and, by the way, jot down your name and address, just in case.
I guess the upside here is that we've reached a point where Somerset is making Fall River look good. I guess I should just shut up and be thankful. That's mighty neighborly of you guys. Classy.